Former Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison, after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft of property and one count of forgery. Circuit Judge Randy Philhours sentenced Holliday to 60 months on the theft charges and 120 months on the forgery charge. Holliday will serve the sentences concurrently, totaling 10 years, in Arkansas state prison.
Holliday was arrested in June 2020 on 12 counts of theft, forgery, and abuse of office after Craighead County officials learned of suspicious activity in the county’s Payroll Account. Following a legislative audit and criminal probe, as requested by Arkansas State Police, authorities said during his time as Craighead County Clerk, Holliday personally received more than $1 million dollars over a six month period.
A federal grand jury indicted Holliday in Dec. 2020 for allegedly taking more than $1.4 million in county money for his personal use. The indictment stated that in his capacity as elected County Clerk in Craighead County, Holliday was tasked with keeping an accurate account of all financial transactions within the county. The funds Holliday controlled included county payroll tax obligations as well as employment retirement contributions. According to the indictment, from Jan. 29, 2020, to June 24, 2020, Holliday transferred money from the Craighead County Clerk’s banking account to his own personal and business accounts. He then allegedly obtained cashier’s checks in approximately the same amounts and further converted them to his own use.
Holliday has also been ordered to pay $13,963.22 in restitution to the sheriff’s office, upon his release from Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Holliday must surrender to the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10.
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